I'm writing this post for the 2nd time. It was completely written and I forgot to hit Publish and I closed the tab and then had to reopen it and I accidentally clicked the wrong thing and then hit Alt+z too many times and my ENTIRE POST was GONE into the Internet ether for forever. I'm rage typing this, if you think you hear something in the background, it's me... rage typing. Fucking technology.
WEDNESDAY
We spent NYE at a Neighbor's house with the GLCK. In a change of pace, Teh German and I weren't fighting on NYE and it was delightful. That selfie contains non-forced smiles! Crazy, I know.
By 0030, we were home and in bed like the old asses we are. #NotSorry
We were moving by 9ish on Wednesday morning. With the assistance of an alarm/reminder, I remembered to set out the breakfast bread to thaw before we left for the NYE gathering on Tuesday night. I left it in the microwave all night to rise and when I got up popped that bad boy in the oven for breakfast. It wasn't disappointing.
After breakfast and scrolling time, I finally got motivated and took the beasts for a walk and then came home and gave both of them a bath. We were at Teh PT House for New Year's dinner by 2:30. All the food was delicious and I ate waaaayyy too much with zero regrets. Around 6:30, I finally headed home to feed the beasts and take care of house things. I put sheets on the guest bed for the dog sitter, did the laundry, pulled out the suitcases and started packing. When Teh German came home, I was puzzling. Nothing else eventful happened and eventually it was bedtime.
THURSDAY
I woke up and pumped out 5 very difficult miles before work. The only good part of the run was this gorgeous sunrise.
I got home and the dogs were being extra annoying so I put them outside while I sat at the island for 5ish minutes to cool down in peace. During that time, Pax decided to show his true asshole colors and pass the time by digging in the yard. Remember that one time,
the day before, when I gave both dogs a bath? Yep, Pax made sure that was nullified. Dickhead. To get back at him, like the spiteful bitch mom I am, I had Teh German give Pax a rinse in the shower since wiping off his tail and feet hadn't really done much.
When I left for work, Teh German was extremely confused and had no idea where I was going. #VacationBrain. I stayed at work until lunch time then headed home for lunch and to leave for Raleigh. Teh German was, of course, not even close to ready. I ate lunch and finished packing and waited around while Teh German finished showering, packing, and then came downstairs to eat lunch. Siiiiiigh.
Between the shit run and Pax and work things and just the day overall, I knew without a doubt that I'd be napping in the car because I was in such a mood. I was able to sleep through Willow's incessant beeping, which tells you how tired I was.
We made it to Raleigh shortly after 5:30. We stayed with Teh Advising Sister. After some socializing we headed to Beasley's for dinner.
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| Chicken and waffles, beets, pimento mac and cheese |
Then we headed to Bittersweet for dessert.
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A take on "smores"
The round thing is house made marshmallow and I ate as much of it as I could since it was delicious.
Inside the ring was ground graham crackers
There was also chocolate and 3 scoops of ice cream.
#HEAVEN |
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Dirty Santa = gin + hot chocolate
Wasn't really my jam. Peppermint schnapps/vodka is way better in hot chocolate. |
Because I forgot my phone, I had zero concept of what time it was, despite wearing my watch (which I had forgotten to put on after my shower, so I wasn't wearing it during work, which is why in my brain, I wasn't wearing my watch either), I deemed it time to go and Teh Advising Sister announced that it was only 7:30. Well, we were all yawning at 7:30, so home we went.
We watched an epsisode, per my request, of The Righteous Gemstones, which was ok. Teh German and Teh Advising Sister got a glimpse of my true fucked-up-ness when I cackled when the person was ran over. They were like, WTF Megan, that isn't even funny... Maybe they haven't watched the part of Meet Joe Black where Brad Pitt gets hit by a van enough.... As someone who would rewind that part and rewatch it over and over and over for the cackles, I've seen it a few times.
We couldn't hang for much longer, so we finally went to bed by 10ish.
FRIDAY
We had a slow start on Friday and went to Big Bob's for breakfast. It was a greasy spoon country diner type of restaurant with huge portions. Food was pretty good. After breakfast, we headed to Adventure Landing, only to find out that the go karts weren't running since the track was wet. We did get in a game of laser tag with a group of kids, but it was rough because we'd eaten so much and running from/being chased by kids with a full stomach was more of a challenge than we expected.
We only did one game of laser tag and walked around the arcade area and decided to just save our activity passes for another visit when we could do the go karts.
For an alternative plan, we headed to a few Raleigh breweries. The first stop was Compass Rose because they were open at noon and because we weren't that far.
Next up was Funguys Brewing, which was my favorite because they had a smoothie beer that was cherry lime flavored and it was delicious.
Next stop was Clouds Brewing. I appreciated how all their beers were named with a cloud theme. The photo is yellow because the lights were weird. Teh Advising Sister met us here after she got off work. She informed me that on the other side of the bar were several pour-yourself-taps. I acquired a bracelet from a server and set about trying a few more beers.
Next up was The Pit for dinner. The appetizer was on fucking point and if you've never had pimento cheese balls, please remedy that ASAP. I now consider pimento cheese balls a mozzarella cheese replacement henceforth. Unfortunately, my meat was super dry, but everything else was good.
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| Pimento cheese balls, wings, deviled eggs, country egg rolls |
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| Pulled pork, brussel sprouts, potato salad |
After dinner, we popped into a chocolate factory for a dessert truffle then on to Crank Arm Brewery for pregame-ing beers.
A little later than I wanted, we left Crank Arm and headed to the PNC Arena for the highlight of our Raleigh trip, the Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals game. I had hemmed and hawed about driving to the arena and having to pay $30 for parking (because wtff) but ultimately decided just to pay the parking fee for everyone's mental stability.
We hit some pretty bad traffic trying to get to the arena, which was stressful since we thought we were going to be late. In a fortunate turn of events, when we pulled up to pay for parking, the lady standing (in the downpour) said her machine was broken and to just go ahead. I did not inform her that I had cash, but MMMKKKKAAYY!!! Thank you, goodbye, I love you!
We parked quickly, at the end of Carter-Finley that is furthest from the Arena (because I'm a moron), and then did the 500 meter puddle avoidance dash to the arena in the rain. We made it to our seats with a few minutes to spare before the players came out, like a Christmas miracle.
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| Absolutely necessary selfie with Ovechkin before the National Anthem. |
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| Before the first period ended, I hiked (yes it hiking when you go from the ice to the first level, kthx) to the bathroom and made sure to stop and grab 2 beers for Teh German and I before returning to our seats. This was selfish because I wanted to try the beer that was special made by R&D Brewing for the Hurricanes (it's called Storm Brew and that's not the name I voted for, kthx). |
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| As expected, Ovechkin did some box time. |
The Caps got a well-earned win over the Canes. There was some strife towards the end of the game and I have an embarrassing confession... In true "Megan emasculates her significant other" form, I fulfilled my own stereotype at the game. There was a group of drunk individuals behind us who kept heckling the Caps players in the penalty box. There were security guards at the boxes soon after the game started and I'm not sure if that's standard or if it was because the drunk groups, since the security person wasn't there the entire game. Anyways, these drunk assholes were super getting on my nerves. Maybe that's part of sitting near the penalty boxes, but it's not my jam. Anyways... continuing on..
At one point, the Caps scored and Teh German was cheering and one of the drunk guys behind us started talking shit to him. I saw Teh German's face flash in a weird way, from cheering and having fun to I will fucking kill you.. and before I knew what was happening, I stood up and told the asshole he needed to shut the fuck up. He was like, "But you're wearing a Canes jersey!" I said, "Yes, yes I am, SHUT THE FUCK UP."
It was pretty eerie in our section for a few minutes after that. I will say that the drunk group piped down... but within a few minutes, I realized what I'd done and apologized to Teh German who responded, "I can fight my own battles." Days later, I still feel guilty about not keeping my mouth shut, but I also know that in that moment, I wasn't sure how intoxicated Teh German was after plenty of day drinking nor did I know what the drunk guy would actually do, especially if emboldened by his group of drunk friends.
I think the Caps win helped smooth things over, but only by default and it was slightly tainted after that. When the game ended, we waited until the crowd cleared out and we were kicked out by the arena ushers. On the way out, I stopped at the team store and bought a new hoodie (because I'm an addict, ok, gosh). Thankfully, it had stopped raining for our trek back to Willow. Since we were parked at the end of the parking lot, it was easy-peasy to get out of the parking lot and on the road.
When we got back home, we socialized with Teh Advising Sister for a short bit, then headed to bed.
SATURDAY
Saturday morning was a slow start. We did eventually get ready and made coffee and headed to Taste for breakfast. It was a solid life choice.
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| The breakfast burrito with short rib and hashbrown cakes. |
After brunch, we headed back to Charleston. No naps this time.. and the ride felt like it took half my life. There are few places more boring to drive than on I-95 within 100 miles of Florence. Ugh.
When we got home, I had Teh German stop at Lowe's first so we could return the unused backsplash tiles and we picked up a few items that we needed for other projects. We made it home by 6:30 and fed the beasts and while Teh German relaxed (he did drive, I'm not upset), I took down the upstairs Christmas things, put the spare sheets in the first-child-room dresser since it's mostly empty except for White Elephant gifts, hung a window on the wall that has been waiting to be hung since the wedding, and reorganized the first-child-room closet.
I have another confession. I have a blanket/comforter addiction. Granted, some of them are dog comforters from when the dogs used to spend their days in their crates/for the car, but there are 3 comforters for human use.. and that's with all the beds currently having a comforter on them! Did I mention we live in Charleston, SC where it
doesn't get cold? Facts.
So my first thought was, yay new dog comforters, but then I'm like, but I already have dog comforters! It's hard to be me, Gentle Readers.
So I managed to organize the blankets, make space for the Christmas tree, put the suitcases near the door (since that's the most frequently used item in the closet), return the crappy drawer thing to the closet (that was holding Christmas stuff) and put quilts in it, and ensure general organization was established. I like to have the closet set up to where it can still be used by guests if they want to use it for hanging clothes or putting their suitcases in there so the dogs don't get into their stuff.
I also organized the guest room closet... while the dogs looked on in confusion about why they weren't getting post-trip "I missed you so much I need to smother you with my love" snuggles.
With all of that done, I can't remember what I did, but I do remember something light for dinner (cereal?) and then either puzzle or Modern Family, I can't remember.
SUNDAY
I didn't want to sleep in too much on Sunday, but I did. Oops. I got up and had breakfast, then we set about the task of storing Christmas. Since I'm the under-stairs-storage troll (aka, I played under our double wide for many, many years, slamming my head on the beams and the bottom of the floor on the regular to train for this, so it's fine) I pulled out all the containers and Teh German handled taking down the tree and I handled the rest of the decorations. I made sure to do several sweeps of the house to ensure that ALL decorations were gathered and stored.
AT THE SAME TIME.. while I was in the storage, I was hunting for the flags that were flown for me while I was in GTMO. I knew they were in the house, but I didn't know which tote they were in. I looked through almost all of them with no success. I went so far as to ask Teh German if he knew where they were or if he'd seen them (which I knew he would have no idea since I'm the storage troll, kthx) and then I was so desperate I called Teh Bestie to ask if she remembered where I put them. She remembered seeing them, but not where I put them. Then, right after I hung up with her, I looked in the box of conch shells from GTMO that I need to go through and get rid of... AND THERE THEY FUCKING WERE. Siiiiiigh. WHYYYY, Megan, WHY?!
I delivered the flags to the office, along with all my old uniform pieces because I figured if I had the flags out, I should also try to put together the shadow box that was with one of the flag frames that I've had since.... idk when I bought them. Long enough that they were super dusty. Oops.
Once we managed to get all the Christmas decorations back into the under-stairs-storage, I went to the office to put the flags in the frames... andddd the flags were too fucking big for the frames. The frames were for 3x5 flags and the flags that were flown are 4x6... because why wouldn't they be?
Nonetheless, I had all my uniform stuff out so I set about trying to figure out what I want my "I love me" box to look like. I'm missing several things I'd like to have because when I got out of the Navy I gave all of my applicable/currently worn uniforms to Ms. Reflective and donated all but one of my DCUs to Bands for Arms since the uniforms were no longer in service. Because I don't have access to the uniform shop anymore, I messaged Ms. Reflective and asked for her assistance with ordering and/or acquiring the missing uniform pieces that I was looking for. She directed me to some websites for ordering certain name tapes and said that she'd acquire the rest of the stuff for me. As for forever, she's the bestest.
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| The beginnings of a shadow box. |
After getting items ordered/sending Ms. Reflective my list, Teh German and I put the tree in first-child-room closet for storage (rather than fighting it every time I need something from the under-stairs-storage) and then it was time for productivity outside the house.
I wanted to return some textbooks, but of course, the store was closed. Next, I went to Old Navy for a return, then to Michael's to return the wrong size flag boxes (with all the dust on them, oops), then to Sam's to pick up the grocery order, and an impromptu trip into Walmart to look for any remaining 2020 stuff to use for graduation, but it was a fail since I'd waited too late.
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| I did pick up some new curtains for the dining room to replace the red ones that no one really likes. |
When I got home, I forgot about the groceries in Willow, oops, and took the beasts on a walk and started dinner. Dinner was sausage/kale/chickpea/black bean/carrot soup. Teh German said it was tasteless, but I could actually taste the individual ingredients, which was nice, so he can deal.
After dinner, I set about finalizing my first task of the day: hanging my diploma frame. You see, that's what started the flag hunt. To hang my Citadel diploma frame meant moving my Bahrain end of tour poster, which reminded me to look for the flags for the shadow box while I was in the under-stairs-storage.
The thing that made buying my diploma frame most worth it? The baby level and double sided foam tape they included with the mounting stuffs. I'm gonna use the shit out of that level.
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And then there were TWO!
123(ish) days until the diploma wall is complete! |
After cleaning my desk off, I took care of pre-bedtime chores, started the laundry, and got ready for bed since Monday was back to work/real life for Teh German and I.
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Overall, a pretty solid "no travel" holiday break. I am considering Caps penalty box tickets Teh German's early birthday present. Additionally, we spent the day at breweries, so that kinda solidifies the "birthday" weekend objective, lol.
I'm probably the only one, but I'm glad to be back at work and getting back into my regular routine, even if it's just for a week and a half before school starts back and a new routine goes into effect. I do so much better when I have a routine.
This week holds activities and guests!
At some point, I'm going to the Chiro. I needs it. BAD. My neck is locked and my upper back is hurting so bad, despite my attempts to have good posture.
The cleaner will come on Wednesday, praise Allah, since it's been 3 weeks and I've used the vacuum so many times since she came.
Teh Bestie and Matilda are coming for the Charleston Marathon (I'm doing the half, kthx). This was the biggest motivator for getting the closets organized. The guest bed sheets will be changed on Thurs before Teh Bestie and Teh Chief Smartass arrive with the pups. First-Child-Room is always ready (if you said that in the military way, I'm proud of you).
Friday, I finally have an appointment to get my fucked up finger checked out by an orthopedic doc.
Friday is also race expo, so that will be a fun scheduling challenge.
No new updates on the vague-news front. Lots of drama continuing to go on with that situation. I will be so glad when that fucking dumpster fire is no longer applicable in our lives. I will say that Teh German will be starting a new job on 13th, so YAY!
Friday's post is in the works, so fingers crossed I get it posted before the craziness of racecation/race weekend starts!
PS. Happy 2020!
